Device for protecting FEOL element and BEOL element

ABSTRACT

A device includes a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) wafer and a conductive shielding layer. The CMOS wafer includes a semiconductor substrate, at least one front-end-of-the-line (FEOL) element, at least one back-end-of-the-line (BEOL) element and at least one dielectric layer. The FEOL element is disposed on the semiconductor substrate, the dielectric layer is disposed on the semiconductor substrate, and the BEOL element is disposed on the dielectric layer. The conductive shielding layer is disposed on the dielectric layer, in which the conductive shielding layer is electrically connected to the semiconductor substrate. an orthogonal projection of the conductive shielding layer on the semiconductor substrate does not overlap with an orthogonal projection of the FEOL element on the semiconductor substrate.

PRIORITY CLAIM AND CROSS-REFERENCE

This is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/209,471 filed on Dec. 4, 2018, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,508,028 issued on Dec. 17, 2019, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/209,471 is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/607,581 filed on Jan. 28, 2015, U.S. Pat. No. 10,155,660 issued on Dec. 18, 2018, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure generally relates to semiconductor devices, and specifically relates to a device and method for protecting front-end-of-the-line (FEOL) elements and back-end-of-the-line (BEOL) elements.

FEOL elements are individual elements, e.g., transistors, diodes, resistors, which formed on the first portion of integrated circuit (IC) fabrication. BEOL elements are wiring elements which formed on the second portion of IC fabrication where the individual elements get interconnected with wiring on the IC wafer. More specifically, after the last FEOL process, there is a wafer with isolated elements (without any wires). In BEOL processes, contact pads, interconnect wires, vias and dielectric structures are formed to connect those isolated elements.

Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology is the predominant fabrication technology for integrated circuit (IC). As technology advances, micro electromechanical system (MEMS) can be attached to a CMOS wafer to form a CMOS-MEMS device. Merely by way of example, the CMOS-MEMS device may include an accelerometer, a pressure sensor, an angular sensor, a microphone and others, and these micro devices include many advantages, such as low power consumption, short response time, and low drive voltage. However, while the size of the CMOS-MEMS device decreases, the FEOL elements and BEOL elements are apt to suffer from process damage, causing low yield in fabricating the CMOS-MEMS device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Aspects of the present disclosure are best understood from the following detailed description when read with the accompanying figures. It is noted that, in accordance with the standard practice in the industry, various features are not drawn to scale. In fact, the dimensions of the various features may be arbitrarily increased or reduced for clarity of discussion.

FIG. 1 through FIG. 8 are cross-sectional views of intermediate stages in the manufacturing of a package including a CMOS-MEMS device in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a CMOS-MEMS device in accordance with a various embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a CMOS-MEMS device in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of a CMOS-MEMS device in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of a CMOS-MEMS device in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following disclosure provides many different embodiments, or examples, for implementing different features of the provided subject matter. Specific examples of components and arrangements are described below to simplify the present disclosure. These are, of course, merely examples and are not intended to be limiting. For example, the formation of a first feature over or on a second feature in the description that follows may include embodiments in which the first and second features are formed in direct contact, and may also include embodiments in which additional features may be formed between the first and second features, such that the first and second features may not be in direct contact. In addition, the present disclosure may repeat reference numerals and/or letters in the various examples. This repetition is for the purpose of simplicity and clarity and does not in itself dictate a relationship between the various embodiments and/or configurations discussed.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising”, or “includes” and/or “including” or “has” and/or “having” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, regions, integers, operations, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, regions, integers, operations, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and the present disclosure, and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

A Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS)-micro electromechanical system (MEMS) device and method of forming the same are provided in accordance with various embodiments. The intermediate stages of forming the CMOS-MEMS device are illustrated. The variations of the embodiments are discussed. Throughout the various views and illustrative embodiments, like reference numbers are used to designate like elements.

FIG. 1 through FIG. 8 are cross-sectional views of intermediate stages in the manufacturing of a package including a CMOS-MEMS device in accordance with a first embodiment of the present disclosure. In FIG. 1, a semiconductor substrate 100 is provided. The semiconductor substrate 100 may be a silicon substrate or a semiconductor substrate formed of other semiconductor materials. In some embodiments, the semiconductor substrate 100 is lightly doped with a p-type impurity, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of front-end-of-the-line (FEOL) elements 102 are formed on the surface 100 a of the semiconductor substrate 100. In some embodiments, the FEOL elements 102 may include transistors, resistors, diodes, CMOS devices, etc, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

In FIG. 2, a plurality of dielectric layers 110 a, 110 b, 110 c and 110 d are formed on the semiconductor substrate 100 in sequence. Furthermore, metal lines 111, and vias 112 are formed in the dielectric layers 110 a, 110 b, 110 c and 110 d. The back-end-of-the-line (BEOL) elements 114 include the metal lines 111 and the vias 112 disposed in the dielectric layers 110 a, 110 b, 110 c and 110 d. In various embodiments, the BEOL elements 114 include capacitors, such as metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitors or metal-oxide-metal (MOM) capacitors, etc, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Furthermore, after forming the BEOL elements 114, the formation of a CMOS wafer 110 that includes the FEOL elements 102 and the BEOL elements 114 is approximately finished. The BEOL elements 114 and the FEOL elements 102 are able to communicate with some other devices, such as a micro electromechanical system (MEMS) device, and to transmit or receive signals from the MEMS device.

With reference made to FIG. 2, a first interconnect structure 118 is formed through the dielectric layers 110 a, 110 b, 110 c and 110 d. The first interconnect structure 118 includes a plurality of metal lines 118 a and vias 118 b. For example, in FIG. 2, after forming the dielectric layer 110 a on the semiconductor substrate 100, an opening is formed in the dielectric layer 110 a by, for example, lithography and etching. Thereafter, a conductive material is filled in the opening by, for example, a deposition process. Through filling the conductive material in the opening, the via 118 b in the dielectric layer 110 a is formed. Then, the metal line 118 a is formed on the dielectric layer 110 a and the via 118 b. Similarly, the dielectric layer 110 b is formed on the dielectric layer 110 a, and an opening is formed in the dielectric layer 110 b to expose at least a part of the metal line 118 a formed on the dielectric layer 110 a. Thereafter, a conductive material is filled in the opening of the second dielectric layer 110 b to form the via 118 b in the dielectric layer 110 b. The rest can be done in the same manner. As a result, the resultant first interconnect structure 118 shown in FIG. 2 is formed.

In various embodiments, the dielectric layers 110 a, 110 b, 110 c and 110 d can be made of any organic or inorganic dielectric material. The dielectric layers 110 a, 110 b, 110 c and 110 d can be formed by, for example, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), chemical solution deposition, spin-on coating, evaporation, and the like. In some embodiments, the metal lines 111 and the vias 112 of the BEOL elements 114, and the metal lines 118 a and the vias 118 b of the first interconnect structure 118 can be made of a conductive material, such as Cu, Al, Ta, TaN, W or alloys and silicides thereof. The metal lines 111 and the vias 112 of the BEOL elements 114, and the metal lines 118 a and the vias 118 b of the first interconnect structure 118 can be formed by a deposition process, such as sputtering, plating, CVD, PECVD, evaporation, and the like.

With reference made to FIG. 2, a conductive shielding layer 116 is formed on the dielectric layer 110 d. Furthermore, the conductive shielding layer 116 is electrically connected to a ground contact 119. The ground contact 119 is a contact portion on the surface 100 a of the semiconductor substrate 100 and in contact with the first interconnect structure 118, and the conductive shielding layer 116 is electrically connected to the semiconductor substrate 100 through the first interconnect structure 118 and the ground contact 119. In various embodiments, the ground contact 119 is grounded.

With reference made to FIG. 2, the conductive shielding layer 116 at least covers the FEOL elements 102 and the BEOL elements 114, so as to protect the FEOL elements 102 and the BEOL elements 114 from some process damages. More specifically, during the etching, grinding or chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP) process, charges (such as electrons) may be accumulated on the conductive shielding layer 116 if the conductive shielding layer 116 is not electrically connected to the ground contact 119. The accumulated charges may cause damage to the FEOL elements 102 and the BEOL elements 114. For example, the accumulated charges may result in electromigration (EM) damage to the FEOL elements 102 and the BEOL elements 114, causing unexpected shorts or opens to the FEOL elements 102 or the BEOL elements 114.

More specifically, the effect of electromigration damage becomes a concern as the size of the FEOL elements 102 and the BEOL elements 114 decreases. That is, as the structure size in the FEOL elements 102 and the BEOL elements 114 decreases, the risk of occurrence of the electromigration damage increases. For example, when the electromigration damage happens on the BEOL elements 114, the shape of the metal lines 111 and/or the vias 112 of the BEOL elements 114 may be deformed, thereby causing unexpected shorts or opens to the BEOL elements 114. Therefore, in various embodiments, the conductive shielding layer 116 at least covers the FEOL elements 102 and the BEOL elements 114. That is, an orthogonal projection of the conductive shielding layer 116 on the semiconductor substrate 100 overlaps with an orthogonal projection of the FEOL elements 102 on the semiconductor substrate 100, and the orthogonal projection of the conductive shielding layer 116 on the semiconductor substrate 100 overlaps with an orthogonal projection of the BEOL elements 114 on the semiconductor substrate 100. As a result, by electrically connecting the conductive shielding layer 116 to the semiconductor substrate 100 through the ground contact 119, the conductive shielding layer 116 is grounded, and the accumulated charges, if any, are conducted to the semiconductor substrate 100. Therefore, the risk of causing unexpected shorts or opens to the FEOL elements 102 or the BEOL elements 114 is eliminated.

In various embodiments, the conductive shielding layer 116 is made of a conductive material, such as Cu, Al, Ta, TaN, W or alloys and silicides thereof. The conductive shielding layer 116 is formed on the dielectric layer 110 d by a deposition process, such as CVD, PECVD, evaporation and the like.

In FIG. 3, an inter-layer dielectric (ILD) layer 130 is formed on the CMOS wafer 110. More specifically, the ILD layer 130 is formed on the dielectric layer 110 d to cover the conductive shielding layer 116 and other metal layers 117 formed on the dielectric layer 110 d. The ILD layer 130 is patterned to form a plurality of openings 132 and a first cavity C1. The openings 132 and the first cavity C1 expose at least a part of the conductive shielding layer 116 and the metal layers 117, so that the CMOS wafer 130 can be connected to a MEMS wafer through the openings 132, the first cavity C1, and the metal layers 117.

The ILD layer 130 is made of any organic or inorganic material. The first cavity C1 and openings 132 are formed by, for example, lithography and etching. Since the conductive shielding layer 116 covers the BEOL elements 114 and the FEOL elements 102, and the conductive shielding layer 116 is electrically connected to the semiconductor substrate 100, the conductive shielding layer 116 can protect the BEOL elements 114 and the FEOL elements 102 from the process damages because of etching the ILD layer 130.

In FIG. 4, a MEMS wafer 140 is formed on the ILD layer 130. The MEMS wafer 140 may be a silicon wafer. More specifically, the MEMS wafer 140 may be free from active devices, such as transistors therein, and may be, or may not be, free from passive devices, such as resistors, capacitors, and inductors therein.

In FIG. 5, the MEMS wafer 140 is then patterned by an etching process to form openings 141 and MEMS devices 142. In the embodiment of FIG. 5, the MEMS devices 142 may include at least one movable element 143 and springs 144 for supporting the movable element 143. In some embodiments, the MEMS devices 142 may include other MEMS features. The MEMS devices 142 are aligned with the cavity C1 formed in the ILD layer 130, so that the movable element 143 of the MEMS devices 142 can move in the cavity C1.

Since the conductive shielding layer 116 covers the BEOL elements 114 and the FEOL elements 102, and the conductive shielding layer 116 is electrically connected to the semiconductor substrate 100, the conductive shielding layer 116 can protect the BEOL elements 114 and the FEOL elements 102 from the process damages because of etching the MEMS wafer 140.

In FIG. 6, the MEMS wafer 140 is electrically connected to the CMOS wafer 110. More specifically, a conductive material is filled in some of the openings 141 by, for example, a deposition process. Through filling the conductive material in some of the openings 141, a plurality of second interconnect structures 147 are formed to electrically connect to the CMOS wafer 110. Furthermore, one of the second interconnect structures 147 is electrically connected to the conductive shielding layer 116 formed in the CMOS wafer 110. Since one of the second interconnect structures 147 is electrically connected to the conductive shielding layer 116, the charges accumulated on the surface of the MEMS wafer 140 can be conducted to the semiconductor substrate 100 as well.

More specifically, the MEMS wafer 140 may include a first surface 140 a and a second surface 140 b, in which the first surface 140 a of the MEMS wafer 140 faces the CMOS wafer 110. The second interconnect structures 147 of the MEMS wafer 140 extend across the first surface 140 a and the second surface 140 b. While other MEMS processes are performed on the MEMS wafer 140, the second surface 140 b of the MEMS wafer 140 are more apt to receive or accumulate charges. Since one of the second interconnect structures 147 electrically connects the second surface 140 b to the conductive shielding layer 116, the charges accumulated or received from the second surface 140 b can be conducted to the semiconductor substrate 100 through the one of the second interconnect structures 147, the conductive shielding layer 116 and the first interconnect structure 118.

With reference made to FIG. 6, at least two openings 141 remain and expose the metal layers 117 formed in the CMOS wafer 110. However, it should be understood that the number of the remaining openings 141 is not limited to two. In various embodiments, the number of the remaining openings 141 can be adjusted according to the actual requirements.

In FIG. 7, a cap wafer 160 is bonded to the CMOS wafer 110 through the two remaining openings 141. The cap wafer 160 covers the MEMS wafer 140. A second cavity C2 is formed between the cap wafer 160 and the MEMS wafer 140. More specifically, the second cavity C2 is formed on or above the MEMS devices 142 of the MEMS wafer 140. After bonding the cap wafer 160 to the CMOS wafer 110, the MEMS devices 142 is located between the first cavity C1 and the second cavity C2, so that the MEMS devices 142 can move in the first cavity C1 and/or the second cavity C2. In various embodiments, the cap wafer 160 may be a silicon wafer although other types of semiconductor wafers may also be used.

With reference made to FIG. 7, the cap wafer 160 includes at least one residue portion 160′. The residue portion 160′ is a portion that will be removed, so that a portion of the MEMS wafer 140 is exposed to perform wire bonding on the exposed portion of the MEMS wafer 140.

In FIG. 8, the residue portion 160′ of the cap wafer 160 is removed by, for example, an etching process or a grinding process. As a result, an opening 161 is formed in the cap wafer 160 to expose a part of the MEMS wafer 140. As shown in FIG. 8, at least two second interconnect structures 147 of the MEMS wafer 140 are exposed from the opening 161 of the cap wafer 160. One of the exposed second interconnect structure 147 is electrically connected to the conductive shielding layer 116, and the other exposed second interconnect structure 147 is electrically connected to the CMOS wafer 110. The exposed second interconnect structure 147 that is not electrically connected to the conductive shielding layer 116 can be used to perform wire bonding, and thus the formation of the CMOS-MEMS-device-including package is finished.

Since at least one exposed second interconnect structure 147 is electrically connected to the conductive shielding layer 116, when performing the grinding process or etching process to the cap wafer 160, the conductive shielding layer 116 can protect the BEOL elements 114 and the FEOL elements 102 from the electromigration damage.

Furthermore, the MEMS wafer 140 covers the BEOL elements 114 and the FEOL elements 102. In other words, an orthogonal projection of the MEMS wafer 140 on the CMOS wafer 110 overlaps with the BEOL elements 114 and the FEOL elements 102. In some embodiments, when performing the grinding process, e.g. a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process, on the residue portion 160′ of the cap wafer 160 to form the opening 161, some fine particles may be sputtered along a direction that faces the BEOL elements 114 and the FEOL elements 102. Since the MEMS wafer 140 covers the BEOL elements 114 and the FEOL elements 102, the MEMS wafer 140 can protect the BEOL elements 114 and the FEOL elements 102 from the fine particles caused by the grinding process.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a CMOS-MEMS device in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure. The difference between FIG. 9 and FIG. 8 is that the conductive shielding layer 116 in FIG. 9 does not cover the BEOL elements 114 and the FEOL elements 102. In other words, the orthogonal projection of the conductive shielding layer 116 on the semiconductor substrate 100 is separated from the orthogonal projections of the BEOL elements 114 and the FEOL elements 102 on the semiconductor substrate 100. In some embodiments, at least one of the openings 141 of the MEMS wafer 140 may not overlap with the BEOL elements 114 and the FEOL elements 102. For example, in the embodiment of FIG. 9, the leftmost opening 141 of the MEMS wafer 140 does not overlap with the BEOL elements 114 and the FEOL elements 102. As a result, when performing the etching process (for patterning the MEMS wafer 140 and thus forming openings 141) on the MEMS wafer 140, the leftmost opening 141 of the MEMS wafer 140 does not cause damages to the BEOL elements 114 and the FEOL elements 102. Therefore, in some embodiments, the conductive shielding layer 116 may no need to cover the BEOL elements 114 and the FEOL elements 102 if the openings 141 of the MEMS wafer 140 do not overlap with the BEOL elements 114 and the FEOL elements 102.

In FIG. 9, the MEMS wafer 140 covers the BEOL elements 114 and the FEOL elements 102. In other words, an orthogonal projection of the MEMS wafer 140 on the semiconductor substrate 100 overlaps with an orthogonal projection of the BEOL elements 114 and the FEOL elements 102 on the semiconductor substrate 100. One of the second interconnect structures 147 formed in the MEMS wafer 140 exposed by the opening 161 of the cap wafer 160 is electrically connected to the conductive shielding layer 160. As a result, when performing other MEMS related processes, e.g. a grinding process or an etching process, on the cap wafer 160, the charges accumulated or received from the second surface 140 b of the MEMS wafer 140 can be conducted to the semiconductor substrate 100 through the second interconnect structures 147, the conductive shielding layer 146 and the first interconnect structure 118. Furthermore, in some embodiments, when performing the grinding process on the residue portion 160′ of the cap wafer 160, the MEMS wafer 140 can protect the BEOL elements 114 and the FEOL elements 102 from the fine particles caused by the grinding process.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a CMOS-MEMS device in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure. The difference between FIG. 10 and FIG. 9 is that the leftmost opening 141 of the MEMS wafer 140 in FIG. 10 overlaps with at least one of the BEOL elements 114 and the FEOL elements 102. More specifically, an orthogonal projection of the leftmost opening 141 on the CMOS wafer 110 overlaps with at least one of the BEOL elements 114 and the FEOL elements 102. Furthermore, the conductive shielding layer 116 in FIG. 10 covers the BEOL elements 114 and the FEOL elements 102. Since the conductive shielding layer 160 covers the BEOL elements 114 and the FEOL elements 102, and the conductive shielding layer 160 is electrically connected to the semiconductor substrate 100, the charges accumulated or received from the second surface 140 b of the MEMS wafer 140 or from the surface 131 of the ILD layer 130 can be conducted to the semiconductor substrate 100 through the conductive shielding layer 146. As a result, the BEOL elements 114 and the FEOL elements 102 can be protected from the electromigration damage.

In some embodiments, since the leftmost opening 141 of the MEMS wafer 140 in FIG. 10 overlaps with the BEOL elements 114 and the FEOL elements 102, when performing the etching process (for patterning the MEMS wafer 140 and thus forming openings 141) on the MEMS wafer 140, the BEOL elements 114 and the FEOL elements 102 may be damaged through the leftmost opening 141 of the MEMS wafer 140. As a result, the conductive shielding layer 116 in FIG. 10 needs to cover the BEOL elements 114 and the FEOL elements 102. More specifically, an orthogonal projection of the conductive shielding layer 116 on the semiconductor substrate 100 overlaps with an orthogonal projection of the leftmost opening 141 on the semiconductor substrate 100, thereby protecting the BEOL elements 114 and the FEOL elements 102 from the etching process of forming the leftmost opening 141 in FIG. 10.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of a CMOS-MEMS device in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure. The difference between FIG. 11 and FIG. 8 is that there are two conductive shielding layers 116 a, 116 b, and the conductive shielding layers 116 a, 116 b are electrically connected to the ground contacts 119 a, 119 b, respectively. The ground contacts 119 a, 119 b are contact portions on the surface 100 a of the semiconductor substrate 100. In various embodiments, the ground contacts 119 a, 119 b are contact portions that are grounded.

The conductive shielding layer 116 a covers the BEOL elements 114, and the conductive shielding layer 116 b covers the FEOL elements 102. More specifically, in the embodiment of FIG. 11, an orthogonal projection of the conductive shielding layer 116 a on the semiconductor substrate 100 overlaps with an orthogonal projection of the BEOL elements 114 on the semiconductor substrate 100, and an orthogonal projection of the conductive shielding layer 116 b on the semiconductor substrate 100 overlaps with an orthogonal projection of the FEOL elements 102 on the semiconductor substrate 100. Since the BEOL elements 114 and the FEOL elements 102 are covered by the conductive shielding layers 116 a, 116 b, separately. The BEOL elements 114 and the FEOL elements 102 can be protected from the MEMS related process damages.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of a CMOS-MEMS device in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure. The difference between FIG. 12 and FIG. 8 is that the semiconductor substrate 100 of FIG. 12 includes a first dopant implant region 104 and a second dopant implant region 105, in which the second dopant implant region 105 has a higher dopant concentration than the first dopant implant region 104. In some embodiments, the first dopant implant region 104 has the same conductivity type as the second dopant implant region 105. For example, the first dopant implant region 104 and the second dopant implant region 105 may be implanted with N-type dopants or P-type dopants. The conductive shielding layer 116 is electrically connected to the second dopant implant region 105 through the ground contact 119. More specifically, in some embodiments, the ground contact 119 is a contact portion on the surface 100 a of the semiconductor substrate 100 that is electrically connected to the second dopant implant region 10. Since the second dopant implant region 105 has a higher dopant concentration than the first dopant implant region 104, the charges (such as electrons) can be conducted into the semiconductor substrate 100 and thus grounded. Therefore, the risk of the electromigration damage to the FEOL elements 102 and the BEOL elements 114 decreases.

In the embodiments, by forming a conductive shielding layer in the dielectric layers of the CMOS wafer, and electrically connecting the conductive shielding layer to a ground contact, the charges, plasma and electric arc can be shielded from the FEOL elements and the BEOL elements during the MEMS related process, e. g. etching process, grinding process, CMP process, etc. Accordingly, the electromigration damage to the FEOL elements 102 and the BEOL elements 114 can be avoided. In addition, in some embodiments, since the MEMS wafer or the conductive shielding layer covers the BEOL elements and the FEOL elements, when performing the grinding process on the residue portion of the cap wafer, the MEMS wafer can protect the BEOL elements and the FEOL elements from the fine particles caused by the grinding process, such that the yield in fabricating the CMOS-MEMS device can increase.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, a device includes a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) wafer and a conductive shielding layer. The CMOS wafer includes at least one front-end-of-the-line (FEOL) element and at least one back-end-of-the-line (BEOL) element. The conductive shielding layer is disposed on a surface of the CMOS wafer and is electrically connected to a ground contact.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, a device includes a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) wafer and a conductive shielding layer. The CMOS wafer includes a semiconductor substrate, at least one front-end-of-the-line (FEOL) element, at least one back-end-of-the-line (BEOL) element and at least one dielectric layer. The FEOL element is disposed on the semiconductor substrate, the dielectric layer is disposed on the semiconductor substrate, and the BEOL element is disposed on the dielectric layer. The conductive shielding layer is disposed on the dielectric layer, in which the conductive shielding layer is electrically connected to the semiconductor substrate.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, a method includes forming a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) wafer comprising at least one front-end-of-the-line (FEOL) element and at least one back-end-of-the-line (BEOL) element, forming a conductive shielding layer on the CMOS wafer, and electrically connecting the conductive shielding layer to a ground contact.

The foregoing outlines features of several embodiments so that those skilled in the art may better understand the aspects of the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art should appreciate that they may readily use the present disclosure as a basis for designing or modifying other processes and structures for carrying out the same purposes and/or achieving the same advantages of the embodiments introduced herein. Those skilled in the art should also realize that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure, and that they may make various changes, substitutions, and alterations herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A semiconductor device, comprising: a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) device comprising: a semiconductor substrate; at least one front-end-of-the-line (FEOL) element disposed on the semiconductor substrate; and at least one back-end-of-the-line (BEOL) element disposed above the semiconductor substrate; and a conductive shielding layer disposed on the CMOS device and above the at least one FEOL element and the at least one BEOL element, the conductive shielding layer electrically connected to ground through a ground contact on the semiconductor substrate, wherein the conductive shielding layer non-overlaps with the at least one FEOL element.
 2. The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the CMOS device comprises a dielectric layer disposed on the semiconductor substrate, wherein the at least one BEOL element is disposed in the dielectric layer, wherein the conductive shielding layer is disposed on the dielectric layer.
 3. The semiconductor device of claim 2, wherein the conductive shielding layer non-overlaps with the at least one BEOL element.
 4. The semiconductor device of claim 3, further comprising: an inter-layer dielectric (ILD) layer which is disposed on and covers the conductive shielding layer of the CMOS device; and a micro electromechanical system (MEMS) device disposed on the ILD layer, wherein the MEMS device comprises an interconnect structure electrically connected to the conductive shielding layer.
 5. The semiconductor device of claim 4, wherein the MEMS device comprises a movable element.
 6. The semiconductor device of claim 5, wherein the MEMS device further comprises a plurality of springs for supporting the movable element.
 7. The semiconductor device of claim 4, wherein the MEMS device overlaps with the at least one FEOL element.
 8. The semiconductor device of claim 4, wherein the MEMS device overlaps with the at least one BEOL element.
 9. The semiconductor device of claim 4, further comprising a cap device at least partially covering the MEMS device, wherein the interconnect structure of the MEMS device is exposed from the cap device.
 10. The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the semiconductor substrate comprises a first dopant implant region and a second dopant implant region, the second dopant implant region has a higher dopant concentration than that of the first dopant implant region, and the conductive shielding layer is electrically connected to the second dopant implant region.
 11. The semiconductor device of claim 1, further comprising an interconnect structure over the semiconductor substrate, and the conductive shielding layer is electrically connected to the ground contact by the interconnect structure.
 12. A semiconductor device, comprising: a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) device comprising: a semiconductor substrate; a front-end-of-the-line (FEOL) element disposed on the semiconductor substrate; a plurality of dielectric layers disposed on the semiconductor substrate; and a back-end-of-the-line (BEOL) element disposed in the dielectric layers; a conductive shielding layer disposed on the dielectric layers and above the FEOL element and the BEOL element but laterally offset from the FEOL element and the BEOL element; and a micro electromechanical system (MEMS) device disposed above the conductive shielding layer, the MEMS device comprising a MEMS element.
 13. The semiconductor device of claim 12, wherein the MEMS device covers the FEOL element.
 14. The semiconductor device of claim 12, wherein the MEMS device covers the BEOL element.
 15. The semiconductor device of claim 12, further comprising a cap device covering the MEMS device, wherein the cap device comprises at least one opening exposing a part of the MEMS device.
 16. The semiconductor device of claim 12, wherein the semiconductor substrate comprises a first dopant implant region and a second dopant implant region, the second dopant implant region has a higher dopant concentration than that of the first dopant implant region, and the conductive shielding layer is electrically connected to the second dopant implant region.
 17. A semiconductor device, comprising: a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) device comprising: a semiconductor substrate; a front-end-of-the-line (FEOL) element disposed on the semiconductor substrate; a plurality of dielectric layers disposed on the semiconductor substrate; and a back-end-of-the-line (BEOL) element disposed in the dielectric layers; a conductive shielding layer disposed on the dielectric layers but not directly above the FEOL element and BEOL element, wherein the conductive shielding layer is ground to the semiconductor substrate; an inter-layer dielectric (ILD) layer which is disposed on and covers the conductive shielding layer; and a micro electromechanical system (MEMS) device disposed on the ILD layer, the MEMS device comprising a MEMS element.
 18. The semiconductor device of claim 17, wherein the MEMS device covers the FEOL element.
 19. The semiconductor device of claim 17, wherein the MEMS device covers the BEOL element.
 20. The semiconductor device of claim 17, further comprising a cap device covering the MEMS device, wherein the cap device comprises at least one opening exposing a part of the MEMS device. 